Article body analysed
By LUKE POWER Published: 06: 31 AEDT, 21 March 2025 | Updated: 06: 58 AEDT, 21 March 2025 70 View comments Manchester United are reportedly willing to stump up more than £50million to land top defensive target Jarrad Branthwaite this summer. The Sun claims that United bosses are still eager to sign Branthwaite, 22, despite Everton refusing to play ball last summer. Everton rejected two bids from United in the summer, including the second offer of £45m plus £5m in add-ons, as they wanted £70m. But Branthwaite, whose contract expires in 2027, is apparently willing to listen to Manchester United - one one condition. He will only move to Old Trafford if Ruben Amorim leads them into the Champions League, which he can do via the Europa League. Branthwaite wants his next move to be to a Champions league club to he can showcase his talents to new England manager Thomas Tuchel at the highest level. Manchester United are reportedly willing to pay more than £50million for Jarrad Branthwaite Everton snubbed both of United's bids for the 22-year-old centre-back over the summer Branthwaite wants United to qualify for the Champions League (most likely via the Europa League) to boost his chances of England squad selection Branthwaite made his England debut in June last year but was excluded from Tuchel's first squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia. Earlier this year, Mail Sport's Manchester United Confidential reported that United would turn away from a big-money defensive signing and opt for a cheaper option with potential. However, that was before Lisandro Martinez suffered a season-ending ACL injury, casting more doubt over his long-temr fitness. Martinez had already missed large chunks of his first two seasons at Old Trafford due to injury. In January, United extended Harry Maguire's £190, 000-per-week contract until 2026 after his upturn in form. However, with Maguire having turned 32 this month, United have to have one eye on the next generation of defensive talent. They did hold talks over the feasability of a bid for Branthwaite in January but ended up tightening their purse strings. Instead, they spent £29. 4m on wing-back Patrick Dorgu and a rather more modest £1m on Ayden Heaven from Arsenal. Branthwaite is seen as a potential piece of the cog for Ruben Amorim's back three Lisandro Martinez's injury may mkae United more open to spending big on a defender However, Mail Sport reported in January that United were thinking of going for cheaper talent Heaven, 18, only recently made his full Premier League debut but had to be stretchered off after getting injured in the 3-0 win at Leicester City. During the summer Lille's Leny Yoro signed for £52. 2m, and Matthijs de Ligt was bought from Bayern Munich for £38. 5m plus £4. 2m in add-ons, bolstering centre back options significantly. But Branthwaite continues to be seen as a high-potential player that can be a key future piece of the puzzle in Amorim's back three moving forward. Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof are both out of contract at the end of the season. The fundamental issue facing United is the need to sell players in order to generate necessary funds to consider buying new ones.
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group